Flagging the lies of Big Oil’s frackers on the 4th of July

In shale fields across the country, you’ll see fracking rigs festooned with Old Glory, and they even paint some of their rigs red, white and blue. This ostentatious patriotic pose is part and parcel of the industry’s cynical PR campaign to convince you and me that its assault on our health, water, air and economic future should be mindlessly saluted, rather than questioned. Energy independence! is their deafening cry — this shale gas boom, they exclaim, will free America from dependence on foreign producers.

“Oh say can you see [through the frackers’ big lie?]” One who has peeked behind their star-spangled curtain is investigative digger Joel Dyer, editor of Boulder Weekly. What he uncovered is “one of the biggest scams ever perpetrated on America.”

Far from independence, we’re going to get the pollution and other problems, but foreigners will get the energy, for the gas extracted from our fractured land is destined for the export market. How do we know that? First, because the industry and its government enablers admit it in their internal communications. But, secondly, guess who’s paying for the fracking of America? Dyer cites reports by Bloomberg News that China has pumped $5.5 billion into the U.S. drilling “boom” — not only so it can export the energy back to its people, but especially so the Chinese can “redeploy the best U.S. practices and technologies” back to China.

Other foreign owners fracking us are Japan ($5.3 billion invested so far), India ($3.5 billion), France ($4.5 billion), as well as multi-billions more from Korea, England and even Norway.

Norway? Come on, America — don’t let the profiteers wrap you up in our own flag. It’s the 4th of July — let’s rebel!

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com

This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.